Russia

A new anti-doping disciplinary panel will be introduced in Russia in an attempt to rid the country of corruption in sport and restore its athletes to international competition ahead of this summer’s Olympic Games, it was announced today (Wednesday).

Sochi’s Fisht Olympic Stadium has become the latest Russian 2018 Fifa World Cup venue to be hit with a completion delay, with the delivery date for the redeveloped facility slipping back five months to November.

Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has said St. Petersburg’s Zenit Arena, one of the main venues for the country’s staging of the 2018 Fifa World Cup, has suffered further delays in its development.

Fina, the global governing body of aquatic sports, has underlined its “particularly robust approach” to anti-doping procedures in relation to Russia after allegations emerged of systemic doping in the country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on government officials to step up the country’s anti-doping efforts as it emerged another major athlete has been caught up in the scandal affecting domestic sport.

Sports equipment manufacturer Head has today (Thursday) extended its endorsement contract with Maria Sharapova, despite the five-time tennis grand slam champion admitting to a failed drugs test earlier this week.

Sportswear giant Nike has suspended its relationship with Maria Sharapova and watchmaker Tag Heuer has curtailed talks with the Russian tennis ace over an extension of their endorsement deal after she admitted yesterday (Monday) to having failed a doping test at the Australian Open in January.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has said it is investigating claims that Russia is continuing to flout anti-doping regulations as it seeks re-admittance to international athletics.

Russia has cut its budget for hosting the 2018 Fifa World Cup by almost $80m (€73m) less than five months after the country’s Sports Minister, Vitaly Mutko, ruled out further spending cuts ahead of the football tournament.

Russia will remain part of the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) schedule after the Moscow Raceway circuit was included on an amended calendar for the 2016 season.

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (Rusada) has entered into a partnership with UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) in order to aid its recovery to compliance under World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) regulations.

Russia remains the European Olympic Committees’ (EOC) preferred destination for the 2019 European Games multi-sport event, in spite of the ongoing doping scandal engulfing athletics in the country.

The newly elected “anti-crisis” president of the Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) has pledged to restore the national body’s image and has said it is his aim to send Russian athletes to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil later this year.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) panel tasked with investigating allegations of widespread doping in athletics has claimed that senior executives on the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Council must have known about the scale of doping in Russia, but has backed current president Sebastian Coe to lead the sport out of its crisis.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) is facing up to fresh revelations concerning doping in Russian athletics after it emerged that the world governing body knew of systemic doping as early as 2009 and considered collaborating with Russian officials to hide the full extent of cheating before the 2012 London Olympic Games.

The International Association of Athletics Federations has admitted that “suspicious delays” by its former anti-doping director, Gabriel Dolle, allowed four Russian athletes to compete at the 2012 summer Olympic Games in London.